Chapter 16 – Steven #2
When I see light up ahead, I have an instinct to rush straight for it, but the tangled jungle ahead of us slows me. Still, when we step out onto the pale path that winds through this thick jungle, I’m grateful.
Sirena turns as we stand on the path. “Maybe you should stay here.”
I tense. Does she feel I can’t protect her? Does she think I’ll be a burden to her?
Just the thought makes my chest swell. Of course I can take care of her!
“I’m not leaving your side.”
She frowns. “Then you must promise to listen to me when we reach our destination. I can’t have you attacking without thinking, like you did with the hydra. You must believe that I’m capable of handling whatever might come my way. You must trust me.”
I think of the moment I saw the hydra. Even now, my blood runs cold. It was a massive monster of legend, towering over Sirena. Its teeth were razor sharp, and its head was nearly as big as the little woman.
If another creature like that tried to harm her, could I hold myself back?
My hands curl into fists. I could try. “Okay.”
“Thank you.” She turns and continues down the path.
Neither of us speaks as we walk, which only further emphasizes the strangeness of this place. Around us, everything is absolutely silent. Not a bird, bug, or animal stirs in the tangled jungle of this place.
We continue walking in silence as time passes. The evening slowly fades into night, and the darkness makes me even more uneasy. In a short time, I’m sure, we’ll be stumbling without anything to light our way.
“Sirena!”
She turns back to me, looking uncertain.
“Maybe we should turn back.”
“Why? We’re nearly there.”
I move closer, looking down at her. And for the first time, I see it in her eyes. A desperation that I never imagined.
“How are we going to get back in the dark?”
She reaches up and runs her fingers through my long brown hair in a way that’s tender. “Trust me, my Steven. I won’t let any harm come to you.”
I catch her hand and press it to my cheek. “I’m not worried about me.”
She smiles and stands on her tippy toes to press a kiss against my lips. “I can’t believe anyone would be worried about me. But you’re also not like anyone I’ve ever met in my life.”
“I feel the same way,” I say.
And then something changes in the air. Darkness falls like a veil around us, and my skin prickles.
I know something’s watching us long before I turn to stare into the jungle on both sides of us. I see a small pair of red eyes, then another, and another, and another. They’re suddenly everywhere, hundreds of red eyes in the darkness.
Moving slowly, I pull Sirena against my side and reach for the hilt of my sword.
“No,” she says, catching my arm.
I look down at her, my jaw locking. “The eyes.”
“Won’t hurt us,” she says, her voice soft. “As long as we stay on the path. Understand? No matter what, you have to stay on the path.”
“I’m a gargoyle,” I tell her. “Nothing can hurt me. It’s you I’m worried about.”
She’s so tiny, so soft. Why isn’t she terrified?
“Those creatures… they can hurt immortal beings. They can hurt you,” she emphasizes. “Stay on the path. No matter if they tempt you off of it.”
My hand tightens again on the hilt of my sword. Her words send blood pounding in my ears. I thought I’d be enough to keep her safe, but if I’m vulnerable to these creatures, maybe I won’t be. I couldn’t live with myself if she got hurt because of me.
Images from a lifetime ago flash in my mind of the first woman I loved.
I see her child that felt like mine. I still remember returning from searching for my builder and finding their house burned.
I still remember finding the builder’s daughter and grandchild, my woman and her child, strung up outside of the burning building.
The horrors of war, brought straight to my doorstep.
Back then, I was left alone, with no purpose. I was a gargoyle who had failed in every way.
Rage and sadness rip through me and I feel a shudder through my body.
“Steven?”
My head jerks up. I realize I’m breathing hard.
Sirena takes a step back from me, fear in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
I try to shake the image away, but it lingers. I won’t go through that again. Never again. I’ll die before I let a woman I love be hurt again.
“Nothing,” I say, but the word is almost a growl.
She’s shaking, wrapping her arms around herself. “Don’t pull out your sword. They’ll see it as a threat. It gives them permission to step onto the path.”
Her words shake me from whatever the hell had pulled me under. I release the sword and take a step closer to her. She takes a step back.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“What happened to you?” she asks, and there’s fear in her voice.
“I was just remembering,” I consider lying, but the words come tumbling out. “The first woman I loved. She… she died. I just never want—“
The words won’t come. I stand, feeling lost. Why can’t I just say it? Why can’t I tell her that I don’t want to lose her too?
She’s suddenly in my arms, holding me like she’s trying to pull me together. “I’m so sorry.”
I stare down at the tiny woman who’s trying to comfort me. “I shouldn’t have gotten angry. When I think of it, everything inside me just goes crazy. All logic goes out the window.”
She pulls back from me. “It’s like that with me when I think about sex.
I know it’s uncomfortable, painful at times, but it isn’t the worst thing I’ve been through.
Not even close. All of you have been so gentle with me.
You’ve all made me feel things I never have before.
But still, whenever it gets brought up I just—“
“Feel scared?”
She nods.
If I thought I was enraged before, that was nothing compared to what I feel like now. My fists are clenched. Blood races through my veins and my muscles tighten. When I meet the man who made her feel this way about sex, I’m going to kill him.
“That’s not how it’s supposed to be,” I tell her, forcing my voice to remain calm. “When a man makes love to a woman, he wants her to feel pleasure. He wants her pleasure more than his own. And he would never, ever hurt her. He should only do what she asks for.”
She frowns. “I never told him no.”
“Did you ever tell him yes?”
She shakes her head.
I have to swallow to keep from roaring. “Then he deserves nothing but death and pain. He took you when you didn’t want him. He knew you weren’t enjoying what he did, and he still did it. There is nothing worse a man can do.”
I swear there are tears in her eyes. “Do you really believe that?”
“I do,” I say.
She’s quiet for a long minute. “I’m never going to let him touch me again.”
“I’m never going to let him touch you again,” I say to her, echoing her words. My voice is harsh as I make the promise to her. To me.
She takes my hand. “We need to keep going.”
I nod, and my gaze slides back to all the eyes in the jungle on both sides of us. She said we were safe on the path, but she’s right. We shouldn’t linger in this dark, creepy place any longer than we have to. All the things I want to say to her, they can wait until I know she’s safe.
We continue down the path. Her steps are nearly silent, while mine are louder.
Up ahead, I see light. Red and orange and flickering like a nightmare. At first I’m not sure what it is. The mist plays around it, and the wailing seems to grow louder, more miserable.
I think we might be heading straight for the source of the sound.
And then, I realize what I’m looking at. Torches. Lots and lots of torches.
They line the path, and we step between them. The fire light plays against our flesh in the strangest way, in a way that screams of magic.
When I look at Sirena, my stomach clenches. It’s like her skin is on fire. The light dances in an eerie way, illuminating her.
She turns back to me. “Remember, say nothing. Trust me.”
Up ahead, torches encircle a large open space. At first I’m not sure why, and then the mouth of a massive dark cave comes into view in the center of the circle. The wailing grows in volume, swelling out of the cave. The sound sends goose bumps rising on my flesh.
“Stay,” she whispers to me.
I freeze, my instinct and my promise warring within me. If she tries to go into the cave, I swear I’ll come after her. I’ll break my word and destroy my honor. I'll do anything if it means keeping her safe.
She walks the twenty feet to the mouth of the cave before she stops in front of it.
I hold my breath.
“Cerberus!” she calls.
My muscles tense. Cerberus? We’ve come here to see the three-headed dog that works for Hades?
I crouch, my hand going to the hilt of my sword. I won’t draw it yet. I’ll wait and trust her. But if the beast should try to attack her, I’ll kill it. No matter how powerful it is.
“Cerberus!” she calls again.
A sound echoes through the cave, and the wailing seems to grow quieter. The sound is strange… like the clanging of metal. Like metal being dragged.
My instincts are screaming to pull her back, to keep her safe.
And then, something emerges from the darkness… a dog. Not a three-headed dog, but a beast with flaming fur. Red, yellow, and orange flames dance from its back, and its eyes glow red. It’s also big, not as big as I imagined it would be, but easily the size of a person on all fours.
It growls low, the sound vibrating through the air.
I tense, ready to attack if it should show the slightest sign that it plans to hurt my mermaid.
But instead, it dips its head and its entire body shudders. Its fur slowly fades into its body, and smooth flesh appears. The flames continue to dance, but after a long moment it’s no longer a hellhound, but a woman on her hands and knees.
She’s naked, but still covered in flames.
When she looks back up, her pupils are red, and a curtain of dark hair covers most of her naked body.
And yet, her flesh is covered in raised, painful looking scars.
Bruises and wounds cover the rest of her skin, and a massive, thick collar lines her neck.
It’s attached to a thick chain that leads back into the darkness.
“Cerberus!” My mermaid races to the shifter’s side and kneels down.
She tries to touch her, but the shifter jerks back. “I’m fine.” Her voice comes out rough and scratchy.
The shifter rises to her feet, struggling with every movement beneath the weight of the collar. And all along, Sirena is there, hands out as if to catch her if she falls.
When this woman… Cerberus, finally manages to fully stand, her back is straight, her shoulders back. And there’s an unexpected pride to her eyes.
At last… the fire that seems to consume her fades, and then she’s just a woman. She's a woman who looks like she’s been to hell and back.
“What has he done to you now?” Sirena has tears in her voice.
“The same as always,” Cerberus says, and her voice is flat, emotionless.
Sirena nods, and I can see she’s shaking. “We need to talk.”
The shifter looks at her and slowly nods.
“But not here.” Sirena looks back at me.
For the first time, the shifter seems to see me. Rage flashes into her eyes, and the red returns, bleeding into her pupils. “Who is that?”
“He’s okay. A friend,” Sirena rushes out.
“A friend,” Cerberus spits the words out. “Our kind doesn’t have friends, only people who seek to use us.”
“Please,” Sirena whispers. “He’s good. Kind.”
Cerberus’ eyes seem to bore into my soul. I can’t look away. I can’t breathe. And then whatever power holds me seems to snap, and I stumble back.
“He stays where he is. Unless he wants to die.” She turns her back to me and disappears into the darkness.
My mermaid looks back at me. “Stay here. On the path. Let nothing remove you from it. And don’t come after me, no matter what. Stepping into the cave for anyone but a god means instant death.”
And then she disappears into the darkness.
I take a step forward. Do I really just let her go? Can I let her go?
A sound in the jungle makes me jump. Looking back into the darkness I see the eyes everywhere. And then I hear a blood-curdling scream. A voice I recognize.
Arthur?
It’s coming from the jungle. My heart races. She said not to leave the path. She said these creatures could hurt me. But I can’t just leave Arthur if he’s in trouble.
The screaming starts again. The muscles in my legs bunch, but I hesitate.
Stay or go?